1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective handwear, such as a glove, that is made at least in part of a breathable material, and which serves to protect against toxic chemicals, especially chemical warfare agents and nuclear, biological and chemical (“NBC”) agents; and is intended especially for chemical warfare protective use by the military, and for general NBC protective use.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a number of substances that are absorbed by the skin, the exposure to which results in severe physical damage. Examples are mustard gas usually contained in vessels marked with a yellow cross, which is a vesicant, and sarin, which is a nerve gas. Individuals who may come into contact with these toxic agents must wear suitable protective equipment or otherwise be protected against these toxic agents by suitable protective materials.
Suitable protective suits are available for protecting the body, especially the extremities and the trunk. To protect the head, especially the face, and the respiratory tract, gas masks (NBC protective masks), often together with hoods, are usually worn.
In addition, however, it is also important that the hands be adequately protected against these types of toxic agents, especially by the wearing of protective gloves. In particular, protective gloves of this type must be suitable for military chemical warfare protective use or for general NBC protective use.
In the state of the art with respect to military chemical warfare use and general NBC protective use, airtight and watertight rubber gloves, especially based on butyl rubber, are presently often used. These gloves are impermeable to toxic chemical agents, especially such as chemical warfare agents. A disadvantage of these protective gloves is their poor ability to breathe (i.e., permit the escape of water vapor generated from the wearer's perspiration) and thus they have a very low level of wearing comfort, which makes them uncomfortable and burdensome when worn for a long period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,715 B1, of the same applicant, and WO 01/82,728 A1 and DE 201 21 518 U1, which belong to the same patent family, describe a glove for pilots with improved tactility and protective effect against toxic chemical agents, which consists of an outer material that is capable of breathing, such as leather or a textile material, and can be furnished with an adsorption layer based on activated carbon for adsorbing chemical warfare agents. Although the glove disclosed in the above mentioned patents offers excellent protection against toxic chemical agents, especially chemical warfare agents, when an adsorption layer, based on activated carbon is present, the wearing time of that glove in military or NBC protective use is limited due to the limited adsorption capacity of the activated carbon. Furthermore, that glove cannot be readily decontaminated or regenerated.